- July 5, 2026
- 8:09 pm
- Israel
On July 5, 2026, a ceremony took place in Jerusalem that connects several layers of Israeli memory: the history of aviation, the history of Atarot, the heroism of IDF soldiers in Uganda, and the personal tragedy of the Netanyahu family.
The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman reported that he participated in the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone of the National Aviation Heritage Center in Atarot, where a special memorial block dedicated to the legendary “Entebbe Operation”, also known in Israel as “Operation Yonatan”, is to be established.
This concerns the territory of the former Atarot airport north of Jerusalem. It is there, in the historic airport building, that a center is planned to be created, which will tell about Israeli aviation, the development of Jewish presence in this area, and the operation to free hostages in Entebbe.
The Israeli press confirmed the key details of the event: the cornerstone laying ceremony of the Atarot Heritage Center took place on July 5, 2026 with the participation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu, and Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon.
Atarot as a place of memory and politics
Atarot is not a random point on the map. It is the north of Jerusalem, the territory of the former airport, which for many years was associated with the aviation history of the city.
According to Israeli media, the future center is to be located in the historic airport building and become part of the events for the 50th anniversary of the Entebbe operation. The Israeli Ministry of Heritage stated that the center will be dedicated to the history of Israeli aviation, the development of settlement in this area, and the history of the Atarot airport itself.
Israel Hayom wrote back on May 6, 2026, that Heritage Minister Amichai Eliyahu is promoting a project worth about 3 million shekels. The publication stated that a separate wing dedicated to “Operation Yonatan”, during which IDF soldiers freed hostages in Uganda, will be created in the center.
At the ceremony on July 5, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke not only about the past but also about the status of Jerusalem. According to Israel Hayom, he stated that the government “preserves Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty” and that “united Jerusalem will no longer be divided.”
In the same speech, Netanyahu linked Atarot, Israel’s aviation power, Operation “Yonatan,” and the memory of his brother Yoni Netanyahu, who died leading the assault team.
For the Israeli audience, this is an important detail. The memorial project in Atarot is not just a museum. It is a statement about memory, sovereignty, the connection of Jerusalem with Israel’s aviation history, and how the state tells its key stories to new generations.
What Moshe Asman wrote
The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine Moshe Asman wrote on July 5, 2026, that it was a great honor for him to participate in the cornerstone laying ceremony of the National Aviation Heritage Center in Atarot.
He emphasized that it is on the territory of the former Atarot airport near Jerusalem that a museum will be built to preserve the memory of the heroism of Israeli heroes who saved hostages in Entebbe and of the operation commander Yonatan Netanyahu, who died during its execution.
Asman separately noted the participation in the ceremony of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Minister of Heritage Amichai Eliyahu, Mayor of Jerusalem Moshe Leon, and other honored guests.
In his message, the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine thanked Minister Amichai Eliyahu for the initiative and wrote that preserving the memory of heroes who risked their own lives to save others is a sacred duty. According to him, such places will educate new generations in the spirit of courage, responsibility, and love for their people.
This wording is especially important today. After October 7, against the backdrop of the ongoing war, the themes of hostages, military responsibility, and national memory in Israel sound not like a historical archive but as part of daily reality.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency draws attention to another aspect: the participation of the Chief Rabbi of Ukraine in such a ceremony adds a Ukrainian-Jewish voice to Israeli history.
Asman speaks of the Entebbe heroism as a person who has lived in the context of war, saving people, evacuations, helping communities, and constant conversation about the price of human life since 2022.
The operation that became a symbol of Israel
Operation “Entebbe” took place on the night of July 4, 1976. Israeli special forces conducted a long-range operation in Uganda after the hijacking of an Air France plane flying from Tel Aviv to Paris. The plane was hijacked by terrorists and directed to Entebbe airport.
In Israel, this operation was also named “Operation Yonatan” — in memory of Lieutenant Colonel Yonatan, or Yoni, Netanyahu, the commander of the Sayeret Matkal unit and the older brother of Benjamin Netanyahu.
Yoni Netanyahu died during the operation while leading the assault team.
For the 50th anniversary of the operation, the Israel State Archives published special materials and for the first time disclosed protocols related to the events around Entebbe. The archive’s publication notes that the documents trace the development of the crisis from the hijacking of the plane on June 27, 1976 to the completion of the operation on July 4, 1976.
Fifty years later, “Entebbe” remains not only a military history. It is part of Israeli identity: a small country, a long distance, high risk, hostages in the hands of terrorists, and the decision to act where most countries would prefer negotiations, concessions, or waiting.
Why the ceremony in Atarot is important right now
The ceremony in Atarot took place at a time when Israel is once again living under the weight of the theme of hostages and war. Therefore, the reference to the “Entebbe” operation is inevitably perceived through the current reality.
In 1976, Israel showed that it was ready to send its fighters thousands of kilometers to save citizens and Jews who found themselves in the hands of terrorists.
In 2026, this memory resonates against the backdrop of questions that society faces again: how to save hostages, where is the line between military force and negotiations, how to maintain unity within the country, and how to tell the next generation about the price of responsibility.
According to the Israeli press, at the ceremony, Netanyahu spoke about the contribution of aviation and the four “Hercules” planes that delivered Israeli fighters to the heart of Africa. According to the Prime Minister, the operation raised Israel’s name among nations as a small country with enormous courage, and the story of “Operation Yonatan” will be told in the new heritage center in Atarot.
At this point, the past and present connect directly.
Atarot becomes not only a place where the old airport is remembered. It turns into a space where Israel wants to explain to itself and the world why the memory of “Entebbe” remains alive.
Ukrainian-Israeli significance of Asman’s participation
For the Ukrainian-Jewish audience, the participation of Moshe Asman in the ceremony has a separate significance.
The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine was not just present at a state event in Israel. He integrated the story of “Entebbe” into a broader moral context: saving lives, remembering heroes, responsibility to the people, and educating future generations.
This logic is also close to Ukraine, which has been living in conditions of war, abductions, evacuations, returning children, remembering the fallen, and fighting for the right to exist for many years.
Therefore, Asman’s words about courage, unity, and readiness to fight for the life of every person sound not like a formal ceremonial speech but as a link between the Israeli and Ukrainian experience.
NANews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency believes that it is in such details that the real connection between Israel and Ukraine manifests: not only in diplomatic formulations but in common themes of memory, security, dignity, and resistance to terror.
What will be in the new center
Judging by the publications of the Israeli press, the future Atarot Heritage Center should combine several directions.
The first is the history of Israeli aviation and the development of air routes around Jerusalem.
The second is the history of Jewish settlement in the Atarot area. Israeli media wrote that the project will reflect the history of the Atarot moshav, founded in 1922, as well as the history of the airport, which began operating in this location in 1924 and served as the air gateway to Jerusalem for many years.
The third is a separate memorial block dedicated to the “Entebbe Operation” / “Operation Yonatan”, the heroism of IDF soldiers, and the memory of Yoni Netanyahu.
This format makes the future museum not a narrow memorial of one operation but a broader platform of national memory.
In it, aviation, Jerusalem, military history, Jewish presence, and the theme of hostage rescue become part of one narrative.
Memory that has not become the past
Moshe Asman concluded his post with the words:
“May the memory of Israel’s heroes be blessed!”
That is:
“May the memory of Israel’s heroes be blessed!”
In these words lies the main content of the ceremony in Atarot.
The “Entebbe” operation happened 50 years ago, but in Israel, it is not perceived as a distant episode. It remains a lesson about a state that must protect its citizens, about soldiers who take deadly risks for others, and about memory that cannot be left only in archives.
The new center in Atarot should become a place where this story will be passed on further — not as a dry date July 4, 1976, but as a living question: what does the state’s responsibility for a person mean, what does courage mean at the moment of choice, and why a people that forgets its heroes loses part of itself.
In this sense, the ceremony on July 5, 2026 was not just the laying of a stone.
It was an attempt to anchor memory in the space of Jerusalem — where the history, security, and national consciousness of Israel always go hand in hand.